Information presenting apparatus and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

A control method for an information presenting apparatus includes: estimating an emotion felt by a user, based on a physical quantity acquired by a sensor; generating identification information that identifies a cause that causes the user to feel the estimated emotion, based on the physical quantity acquired by the sensor or information that a presenter included in the information presenting apparatus presents to the user; and controlling presentation performed by the information presenting apparatus, by using information obtained by executing predetermined processing using the estimated emotion and the generated identification information.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information presenting apparatusand a control method therefor.

2. Description of the Related Art

An apparatus has been disclosed that gives a stimulus to a human subjectin advance, learns a change in biometric information of the subject inresponse to to the given stimulus, and estimates a psychological stateof the subject on the basis of the learned change in the biometricinformation (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2009-18047).

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides a control method foran information presenting apparatus and so on that present informationmore suitable for a user on the basis of an estimated emotion.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a controlmethod for an information presenting apparatus. The control methodincludes: estimating an emotion felt by a user, based on a physicalquantity acquired by a sensor; generating identification informationthat identifies a cause that causes the user to feel the estimatedemotion, based on the physical quantity acquired by the sensor orinformation that a presenter included in the information presentingapparatus presents to the user; and controlling presentation performedby the information presenting apparatus, by using information obtainedby executing predetermined processing using the estimated emotion andthe generated identification information.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a computer-readable storage medium such as a compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), or any selective combination thereof.

The control method for the information presenting apparatus in thepresent disclosure can present information more suitable for a user onthe basis of an estimated emotion.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in aninformation presenting apparatus in a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a use scene of an informationpresenting apparatus in a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in theinformation presenting apparatus in the second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus in the second embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates an operation determination table used for determiningan operation to be performed by the information presenting apparatus inthe second embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates schematic diagrams of a use scene of an informationpresenting apparatus 3 in a third embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in theinformation presenting apparatus in the third embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus in the third embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a graph illustrating a method for analyzing a customersituation in the third embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a table illustrating customer situations in the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a table illustrating customer service policies in the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view illustrating one example of presentation ofa customer service policy in the third embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a modification of the use scene of theinformation presenting apparatus in the third embodiment;

FIG. 15 illustrates schematic diagrams of a use scene of an informationpresenting apparatus in a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in theinformation presenting apparatus in the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus in the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a table for describing a method for deriving a preferencevector in the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a table for describing a method for determining a food in thefourth embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view illustrating one example of presentation ofa food in the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates schematic diagrams of a use scene of an informationpresenting apparatus in a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in theinformation presenting apparatus in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 24 illustrates one example of a language selection table in thefifth embodiment; and

FIG. 25 illustrates a modification of the language selection table inthe fifth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION (Knowledge Underlying Present Disclosure)

The apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2009-18047 merely estimates the psychological state of ahuman subject.

When the psychological state of the subject is merely estimated, a causeby which an actual user or the like is put into a certain psychologicalstate is unclear, and thus there is a problem in that services that canbe provided to the user or the like are limited.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a control method for aninformation presenting apparatus and so on that present information moresuitable for a user on the basis of an estimated emotion.

A control method for an information presenting apparatus according toone aspect of the present disclosure includes: estimating an emotionfelt by a user, based on a physical quantity acquired by a sensor;generating identification information that identifies a cause thatcauses the user to feel the estimated emotion, based on the physicalquantity acquired by the sensor or information that a presenter includedin the information presenting apparatus presents to the user; andcontrolling presentation performed by the information presentingapparatus, by using information obtained by executing predeterminedprocessing using the estimated emotion and the generated identificationinformation.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus obtains the emotion of the user and the cause that causes theuser to feel the emotion, and presents information based on the obtainedemotion and cause. Since the information presenting apparatus obtainsnot only the emotion of the user but also the cause that causes the userto feel the emotion, it is possible to present more appropriateinformation to the user, compared with a case in which only the emotionof the user is obtained. Thus, the information presenting apparatus canpresent information more suitable for the user on the basis of theestimated emotion.

It is also possible to envisage an apparatus for estimating a user'semotion caused by a pre-defined cause. However, such an apparatus merelyestimates the emotion of the user about the pre-defined cause, that is,does not estimate an emotion about a cause other than the pre-definedcause, thus still limiting services that can be provided. Theinformation presenting apparatus according to the present disclosure canestimate an emotion of the user, can perform processing for identifyingthe cause of the emotion, and can present more appropriate informationto the user on the basis of the emotion and the cause.

For example, in the executing of the predetermined processing, theinformation may be obtained by executing selection processing forselecting one piece of information from a table in which one or moresets, each including an emotion felt by a person and a cause that causesthe person to feel the emotion, are associated with respective pieces ofcandidate information or by executing generation processing forgenerating information through use of an emotion felt by the user andthe cause that causes the user to feel the emotion.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus can generate information for more specifically controllingpresentation by using the selection processing and the generationprocessing.

For example, the emotion may include a positive emotion and a negativeemotion; in the executing of the predetermined processing, presentationinformation to be presented to the user in order to eliminate the causemay be obtained when the estimated emotion is a negative emotion, andpresentation information to be presented to the user in order tomaintain the emotion may be obtained when the estimated emotion is apositive emotion; and in the controlling of the presentation, theobtained presentation information may be presented by the informationpresenting apparatus.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus presents, to the user, information for changing or maintainingthe emotion of the user on the basis of the emotion of the user and thecause. Specifically, when the emotion of the user is negative, and it isthought to be not appropriate for the user to maintain the emotion, theinformation presenting apparatus presents, to the user, information foreliminating the cause of the emotion. On the other hand, when theemotion of the user is positive, and it is thought to be good for theuser to maintain the emotion, the information presenting apparatuspresents, to the user, information for maintaining the emotion of theuser. Thus, the information presenting apparatus can present informationmore suitable for the user.

For example, the information presenting apparatus may be a vehiclenavigation apparatus. The navigation apparatus may have a memory storinga table in which one or more sets, each including an emotion felt by aperson and information indicating a direction of line-of-sight of theperson, are associated with respective pieces of control informationregarding road navigation or sound output performed by the navigationapparatus. In the generating of the identification information, theidentification information may be generated based on information that isobtained from an image acquired by a camera serving as the sensor andthat indicates a direction of line-of-sight of the user, the physicalquantity being provided by the image. In the executing of thepredetermined processing, the information may be obtained by selectingthe control information associated in the table with a set of theestimated emotion and the cause identified with the generatedidentification information. In the controlling of the presentation, roadnavigation or sound output performed by the navigation apparatus arecontrolled in accordance with the selected control information.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus serves as a vehicle navigation apparatus and presentsinformation obtained based on the emotion of a user and the direction ofthe line-of-sight of the user. In general, the line-of-sight of the useris directed to a thing that is a cause of the emotion. Hence, not onlyis the emotion of the user estimated, but also a cause that causes theuser to feel the emotion is identified based on the direction of theline-of-sight of the user, thereby making it possible to present moreappropriate information, compared with a case in which only the emotionis estimated.

For example, in the table, the control information for the navigationapparatus may be associated with sets, each including the emotion feltby the person, the information indicating the direction of theline-of-sight of the person, and information regarding a road situationacquired by the navigation apparatus; and in the predeterminedprocessing, the navigation apparatus may obtain road informationregarding the road situation, and the control information may beobtained by selecting the control information associated in the tablewith the set of the estimated emotion, the cause identified with thegenerated identification information, and the obtained road information.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus can present appropriate information to the user, on the basisof not only the emotion of the user and the direction of theline-of-sight but also the road situation.

For example, the cause may be one of a quality of a product and a priceof the product; in the generating of the identification information, theidentification information may be generated based on whether the productlies on an extension of line-of-sight of the user or a price indicationfor the product lies on an extension of the line-of-sight of the userand indicates at least one of the quality and the price, theline-of-sight being obtained from an image acquired by a camera servingas the sensor, and the physical quantity being provided by the image; inthe executing of the predetermined processing, the information may beobtained by generating presentation information for prompting the userto take a purchasing action, based on the estimated emotion and thegenerated identification information; and in the controlling of thepresentation, the generated presentation information may be presented.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus serves as as an apparatus for presenting a customer serviceand presents, to the user, information obtained based on a user'semotion about the quality and the price indication of a product. Ingeneral, each user takes a purchasing action when he or she is satisfiedwith both the quality and the price of a product, and does not take apurchasing action unless he or she is satisfied with at least one of thequality and the price of the product. Accordingly, each user's emotionsabout both the quality and the price of a product are analyzed, andinformation for prompting the user to take a purchasing action isgenerated, thereby offering an advantage in that the possibility thatthe user purchases the product increases.

For example, in the estimating of the emotion and in the generating ofthe identification information, (a) a degree of satisfaction felt by theuser about the quality that is the cause may be estimated as theemotion, and information indicating the quality is generated as theidentification information, and (b) a degree of satisfaction felt by theuser about the price that is the cause may be estimated as the emotion,and information indicating the price is generated as the identificationinformation; and in the executing of the predetermined processing, basedon the emotions estimated in (a) and (b) and the generatedidentification information, presentation information to be presented tothe user in order to prompt the user's purchasing action may begenerated.

According to the above-described aspect, on the basis of the degrees ofthe user's satisfaction about the quality and the price of a product,the information presenting apparatus obtains information that allows theuser to be satisfied with the price and/or the product he or she is notsatisfied, and provides the obtained information to him or her. Thismakes it possible to, specifically, prompt the user to take a purchasingaction.

For example, the cause may be any of the first foods; in the estimatingof the emotion, a degree of fondness felt by the user about each of thefirst foods may be estimated as the emotion; in the generating of theidentification information, information that is obtained from an imageacquired by a camera serving as the sensor and that indicates which ofthe first foods the user brought to his or her mouth, the physicalquantity being provided by the image, may be generated as theidentification information; in the executing of the predeterminedprocessing, the information may be obtained by generating presentationinformation including, with higher priority, a second food having anattribute that is close to preference of the user, the preference beingdetermined based on a degree of fondness felt by the user, the secondfood being included in a plurality of second foods that are candidatesof a food to be served to the user; and in the controlling of thepresentation, the generated presentation information may be presented.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus serves as an apparatus for presenting a food to be served to auser, analyzes preference of the user on the basis of the emotion of theuser and a food the user brings to his or her mouth, and presentsinformation indicating a food that is relatively close to the preferenceof the user. Thus, the information presenting apparatus can improve theemotion of the user.

For example, the information presenting apparatus may have a memory inwhich attribute values of respective attributes of each of the firstfoods are stored; and in the executing of the predetermined processing,a preference vector whose components are the user's preferences for therespective attributes of each of the first foods may be derived based ona degree of fondness felt by the user about each of the first foods, andthe presentation information may include, with higher priority, thesecond food that is included in the plurality of second foods and forwhich a value of inner product between the preference vector and anattribute vector whose components are attribute values of respectiveattributes of each of the second foods is small.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus can specifically analyze preference of the user by performingvector computational operation using the attribute values of respectiveattributes of each food and can determine a food to be served.

For example, the cause may be speech data using one language, the speechdata being presented to the user by the presenter through speech output;in the estimating of the emotion, a degree of understanding indicated bythe user about the speech data presented by the presenter may beestimated as the emotion; in the generating of the identificationinformation, information that identifies the speech data presented bythe presenter may be generated as the identification information; in theexecuting of the predetermined processing, when the estimated degree ofunderstanding is smaller than a predetermined degree, speech data usinga language different from the one language may be obtained; and in thecontrolling of the presentation, the obtained speech data may bepresented by the presenter through speech output.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus serves as an apparatus for performing speech guidance using aplurality of languages, can determine a language that can be understoodby a user on the basis of an emotion of the user about a language, andcan perform speech guidance. In this case, when the informationpresenting apparatus uses the estimated emotion of the user about thelanguage presented to the user, it is possible to more appropriatelydetermine the language the user can understand.

For example, the information presenting apparatus may have a memory inwhich pieces of speech guidance data, each piece using one language, arestored; and in the executing of the predetermined processing, (a) whenthe estimated degree of understanding is smaller than a predetermineddegree, a piece of speech guidance data using a language different fromthe one language of the speech guidance data presented by the presentermay be selected and obtained, the piece of speech guidance data beingincluded in the pieces of speech guidance data stored in the memory, and(b) when the estimated degree of understanding is larger than or equalto the predetermined degree, it may be determined that the one languagepresented by the presenter is a language the user can understand.

According to the above-described aspect, the information presentingapparatus can specifically determine a language the user can understand,on the basis of the degree of understanding of the user about alanguage.

An information presenting apparatus according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure includes: an emotion estimator that estimates anemotion felt by a user, based on a physical quantity acquired by asensor; a cause identifier that generates identification informationthat identifies a cause that causes the user to feel the estimatedemotion, based on the physical quantity acquired by the sensor andinformation presented to the user by the information presentingapparatus; and a controller that controls presentation performed by theinformation presenting apparatus, by using information obtained byexecuting predetermined processing using the estimated emotion and thegenerated identification information.

This information presenting apparatus offers advantages that are thesame as or similar to those described above.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, or anyselective combination thereof.

Embodiments will be described below in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

The embodiments described below each represent a comprehensive orspecific example. Numerical values, shapes, materials, constituentelements, the arrangement position and the connections of constituentelements, steps, the order of steps, and so on described below in theembodiments are examples and are not intended to limit the presentdisclosure. Of the constituent elements in the embodiments describedbelow, the constituent elements not set forth in the independent claimsthat represent the broadest concept will be described as optionalconstituent elements.

First Embodiment

In a first embodiment, a description will be given of an informationpresenting apparatus and so on that present information more suitablefor a user on the basis of an estimated emotion.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks in aninformation presenting apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an information presenting apparatus 1 includesan emotion estimator 11, a cause identifier 13, a controller 14, and apresenter 16. The information presenting apparatus 1 may also includesensors 10 and 12.

The sensor 10 is one example of a sensor used by the emotion estimator11. Specific examples of the sensor 10 include a camera for acquiring animage through image capture using a visible ray or infrared light, aheart-rate monitor, and a sphygmomanometer. The sensor 10 is not anessential constituent element of the information presenting apparatus 1.

The emotion estimator 11 is a processor that estimates an emotion feltby a user U on the basis of a physical quantity acquired by the sensor.Although the sensor used by the emotion estimator 11 is, for example,the sensor 10, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Theemotion estimator 11 may also obtain a physical quantity acquired by asensor from outside of the information presenting apparatus 1. Theemotion estimator 11 can estimate an emotion felt by the user U, forexample, by analyzing a facial expression of the user U in the imageacquired through image capture performed by the camera serving as thesensor, the physical quantity being provided by the image. In this case,a known technique can be used for a method for obtaining the emotion byanalyzing the facial expression (more specifically, the positions offeature points of parts, such as the eyes, the mouth, and the nose).

The sensor 12 is one example of a sensor used by the cause identifier13. One specific example of the sensor 12 is a camera for acquiring animage through image capture using a visible ray or infrared light. Thesensor 12 is not an essential constituent element of the informationpresenting apparatus 1.

The cause identifier 13 is a processor that identifies a cause thatcauses the user U to feel the emotion estimated by the emotion estimator11 on the basis of the physical quantity acquired by the sensor orinformation presented to the user U by the presenter 16 included in theinformation presenting apparatus 1. Although the sensor used by thecause identifier 13 is, for example, the sensor 12, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. The cause identifier 13 may alsoobtain a physical quantity acquired by a sensor from outside of theinformation presenting apparatus 1. The cause identifier 13 identifiesthe cause, for example, by analyzing the direction of line-of-sight ofthe user U in the image acquired through image capture performed by thecamera serving as the sensor, the physical quantity being provided bythe image. A known technique can be used for a method for analyzing thedirection of the line-of-sight of the user U on the basis of the image.

The controller 14 is a processor that controls presentation performed bythe information presenting apparatus 1, that is, presentation performedby the presenter 16, by using information obtained by executingpredetermined processing using the emotion estimated by the emotionestimator 11 and identification information (described below) generatedby the cause identifier 13.

The presenter 16 is an output interface that presents predeterminedinformation in accordance with control performed by the controller 14.Specifically, the presenter 16 performs presentation by displaying animage on a display screen (not illustrated) or outputting sound via aspeaker.

The information presenting apparatus 1 includes a processor (notillustrated). Some or all of the emotion estimator 11, the causeidentifier 13, the controller 14, and the presenter 16 may be realizedin software by the processor executing a program or may be realized inhardware including a dedicated circuit. It is also assumed thatinformation that the above-described constituent elements use forprocessing is stored in a memory (not illustrated) or a storage (notillustrated) included in the information presenting apparatus 1.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.

In step S101, the sensor 10 acquires a physical quantity. A sensorexternal to the information presenting apparatus 1 may be used insteadof the sensor 10, in which case, in step S101, the informationpresenting apparatus 1 obtains a physical quantity acquired by theexternal sensor.

In step S102, the emotion estimator 11 estimates an emotion felt by theuser U, on the basis of the physical quantity acquired by the sensor 10(or the external sensor).

In step S103, the sensor 12 acquires a physical quantity. In the samemanner as described above, a sensor external to the informationpresenting apparatus 1 may be used instead of the sensor 12, in whichcase, in step S103, the information presenting apparatus 1 obtains aphysical quantity acquired by the external sensor.

In step S104, on the basis of the physical quantity acquired by thesensor 12 (or the external sensor) or information presented to the userU by the presenter 16, the cause identifier 13 generates identificationinformation that identifies a cause that causes the user U to feel theemotion estimated in step S102.

In step S105, the controller 14 controls presentation performed by theinformation presenting apparatus 1, by using information obtained byexecuting predetermined processing using the emotion estimated in stepS102 and the identification information generated in step S104.

In the executing of the predetermined processing, presentationinformation for changing the emotion of the user U from the estimatedemotion or for maintaining the emotion of the user U may be obtained asthe above-described information. In this case, in the controlling of thepresentation, the information presenting apparatus 1 (the presenter 16)presents the obtained presentation information.

In the executing of the predetermined processing, the above-describedinformation may be obtained by executing selection processing forselecting one piece of information from a table in which one or moresets, each including an emotion felt by a person and a cause that causesthe person to feel the emotion, are associated with respective pieces ofcandidate information or by executing generation processing forgenerating information through use of an emotion felt by the user and acause that causes the user U to feel the emotion. In the generationprocessing, the information is generated according to a predeterminedalgorithm by using the emotion felt by the user U and the cause of theemotion.

Also, the emotion may include a positive emotion and a negative emotion,and in the executing of the predetermined processing, presentationinformation to be presented to the user U in order to eliminate thecause may be obtained when the estimated emotion is a negative emotion,and presentation information to be presented to the user U in order tomaintain the emotion may be obtained when the estimated emotion is apositive emotion. In this case, in the controlling of the presentation,the obtained presentation information may be presented by theinformation presenting apparatus 1. The “presentation information to bepresented to the user U in order to eliminate the cause” can also bereferred to as “information for changing a negative emotion of the userU to a positive emotion”.

As described above, the information presenting apparatus 1 in thepresent embodiment obtains an emotion of the user and a cause thatcauses the user to feel the emotion and presents information based onthe obtained emotion and cause. In this case, since the informationpresenting apparatus 1 obtains not only the emotion of the user but alsothe cause that causes the user to feel the emotion, more appropriateinformation can be presented to the user, compared with a case in whichonly the emotion of the user is obtained. Thus, the informationpresenting apparatus 1 can present information more suitable for theuser, on the basis of the estimated emotion.

The information presenting apparatus 1 can also generate information formore specifically controlling the presentation, by using the selectionprocessing or the generation processing.

The information presenting apparatus 1 also presents, to the user,information for changing or maintaining the emotion of the user, on thebasis of the emotion of the user and the cause. Specifically, when theemotion of the user is negative, and it is thought to be not appropriatefor the user to maintain the emotion, the information presentingapparatus 1 presents, to the user, information for eliminating the causeof the emotion. On the other hand, when the emotion of the user ispositive, and it is thought to be good for the user to maintain theemotion, the information presenting apparatus 1 presents, to the user,information for maintaining the emotion of the user. Thus, theinformation presenting apparatus 1 can present information more suitablefor the user.

Second Embodiment

An information presenting apparatus and so on that present informationmore suitable for a user on the basis of an estimated emotion will bedescribed in more detail in a second embodiment. An informationpresenting apparatus 2 in the present embodiment is an example in whichthe configuration and the processing of the information presentingapparatus 1 in the first embodiment are applied to a vehicle navigationapparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a use scene of the informationpresenting apparatus 2 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a blockdiagram illustrating functional blocks in the information presentingapparatus 2 in the present embodiment.

The information presenting apparatus 2 estimates an emotion of a user Uwho is a driver as illustrated in FIG. 3, identifies a cause that causesthe user U to feel the emotion, on the basis of the direction of theline-of-sight of the user U, and presents appropriate information to theuser U. This information may be information for changing the emotion ofthe user U to a positive emotion when the emotion of the user U is anegative emotion, and may be information for maintaining the emotion ofthe user U when the emotion is a positive emotion.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, an information presenting apparatus 2 includesan emotion estimator 11A, a cause identifier 13A, a controller 14A, apresenter 16, a camera 20, and a road-situation acquirer 22. The emotionestimator 11A, the cause identifier 13A, the controller 14A, and thecamera 20 are specific examples of the emotion estimator 11, the causeidentifier 13, the controller 14, and the sensors 10 and 12,respectively, in the information presenting apparatus 1.

The camera 20 is a visible ray camera or infrared camera for capturingan image of the face of the user U (see FIG. 3). The camera 20 serves asa sensor for acquiring an image, which provides a physical quantity.

The emotion estimator 11A is a processor that estimates an emotion feltby the user U, on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in theimage acquired by the camera 20 serving as the sensor. Herein, theemotion felt by the user U is assumed to include a positive emotion anda negative emotion. The “positive emotion” as used herein is an emotionindicating a vivid, active state and is specifically an emotion likearousal, excitement, happiness, or the like. The “negative emotion” isan emotion that is opposite to the positive emotion and that indicates agloomy, inactive state, and is specifically an emotion like anger,sadness, fear, or the like.

The cause identifier 13A is a processor that identifies a cause thatcauses the user U to feel the emotion estimated by the emotion estimator11A on the basis of the image acquired by the camera 20 serving as thesensor. More specifically, the cause identifier 13A obtains thedirection of the line-of-sight of the user U as the aforementionedcause. For example, the cause identifier 13A extracts the face of theuser U in the image acquired by the camera and then analyzes theorientation of the face of the user U and the position(s) of theeyeball(s) to thereby identify the direction of the line-of-sight of theuser U. In this case, a thing to which the line-of-sight of the user Uis directed is identified as the cause. It is determined that thedirection of the line-of-sight is, for example, downward, frontward, orsideward. The downward direction corresponds to a case in which the userU sees a display panel of the navigation apparatus, the frontwarddirection corresponds to a case in which the user U sees in thetraveling direction of the vehicle, and the sideward directioncorresponds to a case in which the user U sees a scenery or the frontpassenger seat. In this case, a known technique can be used for a methodfor obtaining the direction of the line-of-sight on the basis of theorientation of the face and the position(s) of the eyeball(s) in theimage.

The controller 14A is a processor that controls presentation performedby the presenter 16, by using information obtained by executingpredetermined processing using the emotion estimated by the emotionestimator 11A and identification information generated by the causeidentifier 13A. The controller 14A has an internal configurationincluding a sentiment estimator 24, an operation determiner 26, and anavigation generator 28.

The sentiment estimator 24 is a processor that estimates a sentiment ofthe user U. More specifically, the sentiment estimator 24 estimates asentiment of the user U, on the basis of the emotion of the user Uestimated by the emotion estimator 11A, the identification informationgeneration by the cause identifier 13A, and congestion informationacquired by the road-situation acquirer 22.

The operation determiner 26 is a processor that determines an operationto be performed by the information presenting apparatus 2 (a navigationapparatus) on the basis of the sentiment of the user U estimated by thesentiment estimator 24. The operation determiner 26 determines anoperation, for example, road navigation or sound output, by using anoperation determination table T1 held in a memory.

The navigation generator 28 is a processor that generates roadnavigation information for a vehicle in accordance with controlperformed by the operation determiner 26. The navigation generator 28generates navigation information for navigating a road along which thevehicle is going to travel, on the basis of map data held in theinformation presenting apparatus 2 and current position informationobtained by a global positioning system (GPS).

The presenter 16 is an output interface for performing display or soundoutput of predetermined information in accordance with control performedby the controller 14A. The presenter 16 is, specifically, aliquid-crystal display, which is a display panel of the navigationapparatus.

The road-situation acquirer 22 is a processor that externally acquiresinformation indicating the situation of roads in the surroundings of thevehicle (the situation is also referred to as a “road situation”). Theroad situation in the surroundings of the vehicle is, specifically,information including the presence/absence of traffic jams on roads inthe surroundings of the vehicle, the width of the road on which thevehicle is traveling, landmarks located in the surroundings of thevehicle, and the type of district (such as a business district or arestaurant district) in the surroundings of the vehicle. Theroad-situation acquirer 22 can acquire congestion information, forexample, by using Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS®).The road-situation acquirer 22 can also acquire information, such as thewidth of the road, landmarks, and the type of district, on the basis ofthe map data held in the information presenting apparatus 2 and currentposition information acquired using a GPS.

Processing performed by the information presenting apparatus 2configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus 2 in the present embodiment. FIG. 6illustrates the operation determination table T1 used for determining anoperation to be performed by the information presenting apparatus 2 inthe present embodiment. The operation of the information presentingapparatus 2 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

In step S201 in FIG. 5, an image including the face of the user U isacquired through image capture performed by the camera 20.

In step S202, the emotion estimator 11A estimates an emotion felt by theuser U, on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in the imageacquired by the camera 20.

In step S203, the cause identifier 13A generates identificationinformation that identifies a cause of the emotion of the user U, on thebasis of the direction of the line-of-sight of the user U in the imageacquired by the camera 20.

In step S204, the road-situation acquirer 22 acquires a road situationin the surroundings of the vehicle.

In step S205, the sentiment estimator 24 estimates a sentiment of theuser U, on the basis of the emotion of the user U estimated in stepS202, the identification information generated in step S203, and theroad situation acquired in step S204 and by using the operationdetermination table T1 (see FIG. 6).

As illustrated in FIG. 6, in the operation determination table T1, ahuman driver's sentiment to be estimated and an operation to bedetermined by the operation determiner 26 are pre-associated with eachsets of an emotion (a negative or positive emotion) of the driver, thedirection (downward, frontward, or sideward direction) of theline-of-sight of the driver, and a road situation. The downwarddirection, the frontward direction, and the sideward direction, whichare the directions of the line-of-sight of the driver, correspond to thedisplay panel of the navigation apparatus (the presenter 16 in theinformation presenting apparatus 2), the scene in the travelingdirection, and the situation in the surroundings, respectively, and eachof the display panel, the scene, and the situation of the surroundingsis a cause that causes the emotion of the driver.

For example, a case in which the driver has a negative emotion, theline-of-sight is directed downward, and the road is congested isassociated with a sentiment “he or she dislikes traffic jams. Is thereanother route?” and is also associated with an operation “search foralternative way”.

Upon obtaining a set of the emotion of the user U estimated by theemotion estimator 11A, the direction (downward, frontward, or sideward)of the line-of-sight of the user U identified by the cause identifier13A, and the road situation acquired by the road-situation acquirer 22,the sentiment estimator 24 selects a sentiment associated in theoperation determination table T1 with the obtained set to therebyestimate a sentiment of the user U. In the above-described example, thesentiment estimator 24 estimates that the user U has the sentiment “heor she dislikes traffic jams. Is there another route?”.

Referring back to FIG. 5, in step S206, the operation determiner 26determines an operation to be performed by the information presentingapparatus 2, on the basis of the sentiment of the user U estimated instep S205 and by using the operation determination table T1. When thesentiment estimator 24 estimates the sentiment of the user U, theoperation determiner 26 selects an operation associated in the operationdetermination table T1 with the estimated sentiment to thereby determinean operation to be performed by the information presenting apparatus 2.In the above-described example, the operation “search for alternativeway” is determined, and the information presenting apparatus 2 finds aless congested route that is different from the route currentlynavigated by the navigation generator 28 and generates an image for roadnavigation.

In step S207, on the basis of the operation determined in step S206, thepresenter 16 controls image display or sound output for the roadnavigation as the operation to be performed by the informationpresenting apparatus 2.

In the operation determination table T1, the driver's sentiment to beestimated and an operation to be determined by the operation determiner26 may be pre-associated with each set of the emotion of the driver andthe direction of the line-of-sight of the driver. That is, the operationdetermination table T1 may or may not include the road situations. Inthis case, the sentiment estimator 24 determines an operation on thebasis of a set of the emotion and the direction of the line-of-sight.With this arrangement, even when the road-situation acquirer 22 fails toacquire the road situation, it is possible to present appropriateinformation to the user U.

The sentiment estimator 24 has been described above as determining anoperation on the basis of the set of the emotion, the direction of theline-of-sight, and the road information, as described above, and the setmay include, for example, the weather at the time of the determinationand information obtained by extracting preference of the driver aboutmusic that is being played at the time of the determination.

The emotion estimator 11A may estimate not only the emotion of thedriver but also the sentiment(s) of the fellow passenger(s). Inparticular, in a case in which a fellow passenger in the front passengerseat is a person of the opposite gender of the driver, and the driverhas a positive emotion and directs his or her consciousness (his or herline-of-sight or conversation) to the front passenger seat, theoperation determiner 26 may determine an operation, for example, (a)giving navigation to a route that enables going a long way around orgiving navigation to a facility (such as a hotel) where they can spendtime together, when the fellow passenger in the front passenger seat hasa positive emotion, or (b) selecting a way to go home directly, when thefellow passenger in the front passenger seat has a negative emotion.

The emotion estimator 11A may also estimate an emotion that is differentfrom a positive emotion and a negative emotion. For example, the emotionestimator 11A may determine the degree of arousal and the degree ofsleepiness as an emotion. In this case, when the degree of arousal islarger, relaxing music determined by learning may be played, and whenthe degree of sleepiness is larger, music with which he or she can havea positive emotion, the music being determined by learning, may beplayed.

The emotion estimator 11A may also estimate an emotion immediately afterthe vehicle enters a driving state from a parked state for a certainperiod of time, and the estimated emotion and a facility where thevehicle was parked may be linked to each other so as to allow preferenceof facilities to be learned, and the degree of customer satisfaction maybe fed back to the facility. For example, the emotion estimator 11A mayestimate the emotion of the driver when the vehicle comes out of a gasstation, and the degree of satisfaction about the gas station may be fedback to the gas station.

Also, the emotion estimator 11A may be utilized for marketing. Forexample, preference for vehicles may be learned through estimation ofthe emotions of the drivers in vehicles used in carsharing, and thenumber of times a vehicle for which a large number of large degrees ofsatisfaction are obtained is shared may be increased.

As described above, the information presenting apparatus in the presentembodiment serves as a vehicle navigation apparatus and presentsinformation obtained based on the emotion of a user and the direction ofthe line-of-sight of the user. In general, the line-of-sight of the useris directed to a thing that is a cause of the emotion. Hence, not onlyis the emotion of the user estimated, but also a cause that causes theuser to feel the emotion is identified based on the direction of theline-of-sight of the user, thereby making it possible to present moreappropriate information, compared with a case in which only the emotionis estimated.

The information presenting apparatus can also present appropriateinformation to the user, on the basis of not only the emotion of theuser and the direction of the line-of-sight but also the road situation.

Third Embodiment

In a third embodiment, an information presenting apparatus and so onthat present information more suitable for a user on the basis of anestimated emotion will be described in more detail. An informationpresenting apparatus 3 in the present embodiment is an example in whichthe configuration and the processing of the information presentingapparatus 1 in the first embodiment are applied to an apparatus thatpresents a customer service policy for a user who is going to purchase aproduct.

FIG. 7 illustrates schematic diagrams of a use scene of the informationpresenting apparatus 3 in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a blockdiagram illustrating functional blocks in the information presentingapparatus 3 in the present embodiment.

The information presenting apparatus 3 is placed, for example, in astore to estimate, as an emotion, the degree of satisfaction of a user Uabout a product 51 and the degree of satisfaction of the user U about aprice indication 53 attached to the product 51, as illustrated in FIG.7. On the basis of the estimated degrees of satisfaction, theinformation presenting apparatus 3 presents, to a sales clerk as acustomer service policy, information for prompting the user U to take apurchasing action. That is, when the user U has an emotion “beingdissatisfied with the quality or the price of the product 51”, theinformation presenting apparatus 3 presents information for changing theemotion to be closer to satisfaction, and when the user U has an emotion“being satisfied with the quality and the price of the product 51”, theinformation presenting apparatus 3 presents information for making theuser U maintain the emotion.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the information presenting apparatus 3includes an emotion estimator 11B, a cause identifier 13B, a controller14B, a presenter 16, a camera 20, and a camera position acquirer 42. Theemotion estimator 11 B, the cause identifier 13B, the controller 14B,and the camera 20 are specific examples of the emotion estimator 11, thecause identifier 13, the controller 14, and the sensors 10 and 12,respectively, in the information presenting apparatus 1.

The camera 20 is a visible ray camera or infrared camera for capturingan image of the face of the user U (see FIG. 7). The camera 20 serves asa sensor for acquiring an image, which provides a physical quantity.

The camera position acquirer 42 is a processor that acquires, from amemory or outside of the camera position acquirer 42, informationindicating the position where the camera 20 is placed.

The emotion estimator 11B is a processor that estimates an emotion feltby the user U on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in theimage acquired by the camera 20 serving as the sensor. In the case, theemotion felt by the user U includes the degree of satisfaction about thequality or the price of a product. The degree of satisfaction betweendissatisfaction and satisfaction is indicated by, for example, anumerical value between 0 and 1, with the dissatisfaction (i.e., theuser U is not satisfied at all) being indicated by 0 and thesatisfaction being indicated by 1. A known technique can be used for amethod for determining the degree of satisfaction on the basis of afacial expression.

The cause identifier 13B is a processor that identifies a cause thatcauses the user U to feel the emotion estimated by the emotion estimator11B on the basis of the image acquired by the camera 20 serving as thesensor. More specifically, the cause identifier 13B obtains thedirection of the line-of-sight of the user U from the image acquired bythe camera 20, and generates identification information indicating oneof the quality and the price of the product, on the basis of whether theproduct 51 lies on an extension of the line-of-sight of the user U orthe price indication 53 for the product 51 lies on an extension of theline-of-sight of the user U. The cause identifier 13B also obtainsposition information of the position where the camera 20 is placed fromthe camera position acquirer 42 and identifies to which of a pluralityof products (not illustrated) the line-of-sight of the user U isdirected.

For example, in a scene illustrated in part (a) of FIG. 7, the emotionestimator 11B estimates that the user U is satisfied with the quality ofthe product 51 and determines a degree of satisfaction that isrelatively close to 1. The cause identifier 13B generates identificationinformation indicating, of the quality and the price of the product, thequality of the product.

Also, for example, in a scene illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 7, theemotion estimator 11B estimates that the user U is not satisfied withthe price of the product 51 and determines a degree of satisfaction thatis relatively close to 0. The cause identifier 13B generatesidentification information indicating, of the quality and the price ofthe product, the price of the product.

The controller 14B is a processor that controls presentation performedby the presenter 16, by using information obtained by executingpredetermined processing using the emotion estimated by the emotionestimator 11B and the identification information generated by the causeidentifier 13B. The controller 14B has an internal configurationincluding a sentiment estimator 44 and a policy determiner 46.

The sentiment estimator 44 is a processor that estimates a sentiment ofthe user U. The sentiment estimator 44 obtains the degrees ofsatisfaction of the user U about the quality and the price of theproduct from the emotion estimator 11B and the cause identifier 13B andestimates a sentiment of the user U by using a sentiment table T2 heldin the memory.

The policy determiner 46 is a processor that obtains the sentiment ofthe user U estimated by the sentiment estimator 44 and that determines acustomer service policy by using a presentation information table T3held in the memory.

The presenter 16 is an output interface for performing display or soundoutput of predetermined information in accordance with control performedby the controller 14B.

Processing performed by the information presenting apparatus 3configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus 3 in the present embodiment. FIG. 10 isa graph illustrating a method for analyzing a customer situation in thepresent embodiment. FIG. 11 is a table illustrating customer situationsin the present embodiment. FIG. 12 is a table illustrating customerservice policies in the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic viewillustrating one example of presentation of a customer service policy inthe present embodiment. The operation of the information presentingapparatus 3 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13.

In step S301 in FIG. 9, an image including the face of the user U isacquired through image capture performed by the camera 20. At this pointin time, it is assumed that the line-of-sight of the user U is directedto the product 51 (part (a) of FIG. 7).

In step S302, the cause identifier 13B recognizes that the line-of-sightof the user U is directed to the product 51 on the basis of the imageacquired in step S301 and generates identification informationindicating the product.

In step S303, the emotion estimator 11B estimates a degree ofsatisfaction felt by the user U about the quality of the product 51, onthe basis of a facial expression of the user U in the image acquired bythe camera 20.

In step S304, an image including the face of the user U is acquiredthrough image capture performed by the camera 20. In this case, it isassumed that the line-of-sight of the user U is directed to the priceindication 53 (part (b) of FIG. 7).

In step S305, the cause identifier 13B recognizes that the line-of-sightof the user U is directed to the price indication 53, on the basis ofthe image acquired in step S304, and generates identificationinformation indicating the price indication 53.

In step S306, the emotion estimator 11B estimates a degree ofsatisfaction felt by the user U about the price of the product, on thebasis of a facial expression of the user U in the image acquired by thecamera 20.

In step S307, the sentiment estimator 44 estimates a sentiment of theuser U (see FIGS. 10 and 11).

FIG. 10 is a graph depicting, on coordinate axes, the degrees ofsatisfaction of the user U about the quality and the price of a product.Point P indicated by plotting the degree of satisfaction obtained instep S303 on a “product” axis and plotting the degree of satisfactionobtained in step S306 on a “price” axis is associated with the degreesof satisfaction of the user U about the product 51. For example, thedegrees of satisfaction of the user U estimated from part (a) and part(b) of FIG. 7 are indicated by point P in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 illustrates the sentiment table T2 in which the quadrant wherepoint P is located, the quadrant being included in first to fourthquadrants in the graph illustrated in FIG. 10, and the sentiment of theuser U are shown pre-associated with each other. For example, the secondquadrant where point P is located is associated with the user U havingthe sentiment “being satisfied with the quality of the product and beingdissatisfied with the price of the product”.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S308, the policy determiner 46determines a customer service policy on the basis of the sentimentestimated by the sentiment estimator 44 in step S307 to thereby generatepresentation information for prompting the user U to take a purchasingaction (see FIG. 12).

FIG. 12 illustrates the presentation information table T3 in which thequadrant where point P is located, the quadrant being included in thefirst to fourth quadrants in the graph illustrated in FIG. 10, and thepresentation information for prompting the user U to take a purchasingaction are shown pre-associated with each other. For example, point Plocated in the second quadrant is associated with solving the problemwith the price, that is, is associated with a customer service policyfor eliminating the dissatisfaction the user U feels about the price.Specifically, in this case, FIG. 12 shows that giving a discount on theproduct or giving a coupon (discount privilege) is proposed as aneffective customer service policy.

Depending on in which of the first to fourth quadrants (illustrated inthe graph illustrated in FIG. 10) point P is located, the policydeterminer 46 selects the corresponding customer service policy (and aspecific example thereof) from the presentation information table T3 tothereby generate presentation information.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S309, in accordance with controlperformed by the controller 14B, the presenter 16 presents thepresentation information (see FIG. 13).

FIG. 13 illustrates one example of the presentation informationpresented by the presenter 16. The presentation information in theexample illustrated in FIG. 13 is shown to a sales clerk who is servingthe user U. The presenter 16 presents a graph 55 indicating the degreesof satisfaction of the user U about the quality and the price of theproduct and a character string 57 indicating the customer servicepolicy. This offers some advantages. That is, by viewing the graph 55presented by the presenter 16, the sales clerk can know the degrees ofsatisfaction of the user U about the quality and the price of theproduct, and by viewing the character string 57, the sales clerk canknow with what policy the sales clerk should serve the user U in orderto prompt the user U to take a purchasing action.

Although the above-description has been given of an example of a scenein which the user U does shopping while actually seeing the actualproduct 51, the same or similar advantages can also be offered foronline shopping performed via an information terminal.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view illustrating a modification of the use sceneof the information presenting apparatus 3 in the present embodiment.

An information presenting apparatus 3A illustrated in FIG. 14 is anapparatus that has the functions of the information presenting apparatus3 and that provides an online shopping function to a user U.

The presenter 16 in the information presenting apparatus 3A displays animage 51A of a product 51 and an image 53A of the price indication ofthe product 51. Also, the camera 20 acquires an image including the faceof the user U who is doing online shopping.

In this case, the information presenting apparatus 3A can also know thedegrees of satisfaction of the user U about the quality and the price ofthe product, as in the information presenting apparatus 3. On the basisof the degrees of satisfaction, it is possible to perform processing forprompting the user U to take a purchasing action.

Although the facial expression determination made by the emotionestimator 11B has been described as using feature points in an image,the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Through measurement of asurface temperature of the nose by using an emission thermometer, theemotion estimator 11B may estimate that the user U has a pleasantemotion when the surface temperature increases and may estimate that theuser U has an unpleasant emotion when the surface temperature decreases.

Image processing using an infrared camera, other than image processingusing a visible ray camera, may be used for the cause identifier 13B todetermine the direction of the line-of-sight.

Although the cause identifier 13B has been described as detecting theline-of-sight of the user U to identify a cause, it may also use agesture, such as touching with a hand of the user U or moving the headof the user U closer.

Also, the sentiment estimator 44 has been described as performingclassification based on the four quadrants, that is, the first to fourthquadrants, it may perform finer classification or coarserclassification.

Also, although the policy determiner 46 has been described as usingproduct information during determination of the customer service policy,it may use a customer service policy corresponding to a customersituation classified into any of the four quadrants, without using theproduct information. Also, the target product 51 may be an individualproduct, such as a certain type of jeans or may be a product category (aclothing category of pants, shirts, jackets, or the like or a productcategory of products, food, dishes, furniture, or the like).

Also, the customer service policy may be determined by identifying theuser U as being a customer in combination with face image authenticationand then selecting a product or service to be recommended by usingpurchase history of this customer.

Also, after identifying the user U as being a customer through faceimage authentication, a sentiment of the identified customer may bemanaged by a server on a network in conjunction with the purchasehistory. This makes it possible to provide a customer service based onan equivalent customer service policy, even when the same customer showsup at another store.

As described above, the information presenting apparatus in the presentembodiment serves as as an apparatus for presenting a customer serviceand presents, to the user, information obtained based on a user'semotion about the quality and the price indication of a product. Ingeneral, each user takes a purchasing action when he or she is satisfiedwith both the quality and the price of a product, and does not take apurchasing action unless he or she is satisfied with at least one of thequality and the price of the product. Accordingly, each user's emotionsabout both the quality and the price of a product are analyzed, andinformation for prompting the user to take a purchasing action isgenerated, thereby offering an advantage in that the possibility thatthe user purchases the product increases.

Also, on the basis of the degrees of the user's satisfaction about thequality and the price of a product, the information presenting apparatusobtains information that allows the user to be satisfied with the priceand/or the product he or she is not satisfied, and provides the obtainedinformation to him or her. This makes it possible to, specifically,prompt the user to take a purchasing action.

Fourth Embodiment

In a fourth embodiment, an information presenting apparatus and so onthat present information more suitable for a user on the basis of anestimated emotion will be described in more detail. An informationpresenting apparatus 4 in the present embodiment is an example in whichthe configuration and the processing of the information presentingapparatus 1 in the first embodiment are applied to an apparatus thatdetermines a food to be served to a person.

FIG. 15 illustrates schematic views of a use scene of the informationpresenting apparatus 4 in the present embodiment. FIG. 16 is a blockdiagram illustrating functional blocks in the information presentingapparatus 4 in the present embodiment.

The information presenting apparatus 4 estimates, as an emotion, thedegree of fondness of a user U when food A and food B as illustrated inFIG. 15 are served to the user while the user U is having a meal. On thebasis of the estimated degree of fondness, the information presentingapparatus 4 analyzes food preference of the user U and presents, to afood server, a next recommended food to be served to the user U. Thatis, by using the next food to be served to the user U, the informationpresenting apparatus 4 increases the degree of fondness of the user U ormaintains the degree of fondness when the degree of fondness is alreadyrelatively high.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, the information presenting apparatus 4includes an emotion estimator 110, a cause identifier 13C, a controller14C, a presenter 16, and a camera 20. The emotion estimator 110, thecause identifier 13C, the controller 14C, and the camera 20 are specificexamples of the emotion estimator 11, the cause identifier 13, thecontroller 14, and the sensors 10 and 12, respectively, in theinformation presenting apparatus 1.

The camera 20 is a visible ray camera or infrared camera for capturingan image of the face of the user U (see FIG. 15). The camera 20 servesas a sensor for acquiring an image, which provides a physical quantity.More specifically, the camera 20 performs image capture to acquire animage including the user U, foods A and B, dishes DA and DB in whichfoods A and B are respectively placed.

The emotion estimator 11C is a processor that estimates an emotion feltby the user U on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in theimage acquired by the camera 20 serving as the sensor. In this case, theemotion felt by the user U includes a degree of fondness for a food,such as being fond of the food, the food tasting delicious, or beingsatisfied with the food. A known technique can be used for a method fordetermining the degree of fondness on the basis of the facialexpression.

The cause identifier 13C is a processor that identifies a cause thatcauses the user U to feel the emotion estimated by the emotion estimator11C on the basis of the image acquired by the camera 20 serving as thesensor. More specifically, on the basis of analysis of the imageacquired through image capture performed by the camera 20, the causeidentifier 13C determines whether the user U brought food A in dish DAto his or her mouth or brought food B in dish DB to his or her mouth.The cause identifier 13C then generates identification informationindicating the food (one of foods A and B) the user U brought to his orher mouth. In the image analysis, for example, the colors or shapes ofdishes DA and DB and the position of the mouth of the user U aredetermined, and food Brought to the mouth of the user U is identifiedbased on from which of dishes DA and DB the object was brought to themouth of the user U.

Through the processing described above, the emotion estimator 11C andthe cause identifier 13C estimate the degree of fondness felt by theuser U about each of foods A and B and generates identificationinformation indicating food A or B for which the user U had the degreeof fondness.

The controller 14C is a processor that controls presentation performedby the presenter 16, by using information obtained by executingpredetermined processing using the emotion estimated by the emotionestimator 11C and the identification information generated by the causeidentifier 13C. The controller 14C has an internal configurationincluding a preference determiner 62 and a food determiner 64.

The preference determiner 62 is a processor that determines foodpreference of the user U. The preference determiner 62 obtains thedegrees of fondness of the user U about the respective foods A and Bfrom the emotion estimator 11C and the cause identifier 13C anddetermines food preference of the user U by using a predetermineddetermination method based on the obtained degrees of fondness.

The food determiner 64 is a processor that determines a next food to beserved to the user U among a plurality of candidates held in a memory byusing a predetermined determination method on the basis of the foodpreference of the user U determined by the preference determiner 62.

The presenter 16 is an output interface for performing display or soundoutput of predetermined information in accordance with control performedby the controller 14C.

Processing performed by the information presenting apparatus 4configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus 4 in the present embodiment. FIG. 18 isa table for describing a method for deriving a preference vector in thepresent embodiment. FIG. 19 is a table for describing a method fordetermining a food in the present embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematicview illustrating one example of presentation of a food in the presentembodiment.

In step S401 in FIG. 17, the camera 20 acquires an image including theuser U, foods A and B, and dishes DA and DB. It is assumed that, at thispoint in time, an image showing a scene in which the user U brings foodA from dish DA to his or her mouth (e.g., part (a) of FIG. 15) isacquired.

In step S402, on the basis of the image acquired in step S401, the causeidentifier 13C determines that the user U brought food A to his or hermouth. Thus, the cause identifier 13C identifies that a cause thatcauses the emotion felt by the user U is food A and generatesidentification information indicating food A.

In step S403, the emotion estimator 11C estimates an emotion felt by theuser U, on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in the imageacquired in step S401. Since this image shows a scene in which the userU brings food A to his or her mouth, the emotion estimated by theemotion estimator 11C is the emotion the user U feels about food A, morespecifically, a fondness for food A.

In steps S404, S405, and S406, in the same manner as described above,the cause identifier 13C and the emotion estimator 11C obtain the degreeof fondness of the user U about food B, on the basis of an imageacquired by the camera 20, the image showing a scene (e.g., part (b) ofFIG. 15) in which the user U brings food B from dish DB to his or hermouth.

In step S407, the preference determiner 62 generates a preference vectorrepresenting food preference of the user U (see FIG. 18).

FIG. 18 illustrates a method for deriving a preference vector (amultidimensional vector) of the user U about foods A and B on the basisof the degree of fondness of the user U.

As a premise, it is assumed that the attribute values of respectiveattributes are pre-defined for foods A and B. The attributes include,for example, an attribute that derives from an ingredient, such as meator vegetable, of each food and an attribute that derives from taste,such as sweetness or bitterness, of each food. The attribute value ofeach attribute is an indicator indicating the magnitude of the attributeand takes, for example, a value that is 0 or more and is 1 or less. Forexample, the attribute of “meat” of a food including a large amount ofmeat as an ingredient takes a relatively large attribute value (e.g.,0.8). Also, the attribute of “sweetness” of a food having a small amountof sweet takes a relatively small attribute value (e.g., 0.3). A vectorwhose components are the attributes is referred to as an “attributevector”.

The preference determiner 62 obtains weighted averages of the attributevalues of each of foods A and B by using the degrees of fondness forfoods A and B, the degrees of fondness being estimated in step S403 andstep S406, as weights, to thereby generate a preference vector. Thepreference vector that is generated is a vector having a number ofdimensions which is the same as the number of attributes. The componentsof the preference vector include the weighted averages of the attributevalues. For example, when the attribute values of the attributes “meat”in foods A and B are 0.8 and 0.2, respectively, the degree of fondnessof the user U about food A is 0.9, and the degree of fondness of theuser U about food B is 0.1, the component “meat” in the preferencevector is calculated to be 0.74 (=0.8×0.9+0.2×0.1). Other attributes andcomponents are calculated in the same manner. Since each of thecomponents in the preference vector indicates the degree to which theuser U has a fondness for each food having the attributes, thepreference vector indicates preference of the user U.

Referring back to FIG. 17, in step S408, the food determiner 64determines a next food to be served to the user U. More specifically,the food determiner 64 determines a next food to be served to the user Uon the basis of the values of inner product between the attributevectors for respective food candidates and the preference vectorcalculated in step S408 (see FIG. 19).

FIG. 19 illustrates a method for determining a food on the basis of thevalue of inner product between the attribute vector and the preferencevector.

The information presenting apparatus 4 is assumed to have, as a premise,a plurality of food candidates (foods C and Din FIG. 19), which arecandidates of a food to be served to the user U. It is assumed that theattribute values of respective attributes are pre-defined for foods Cand D, as in the case of foods A and B.

The food determiner 64 generates presentation information that includes,with higher priority, a food having attributes that are closer to thepreference of the user U. More specifically, the food determiner 64obtains the values (in this example, 1.801 and 0.998) of inner productsbetween the preference vector generated in step S407 and attributevectors for foods C and D. The food determiner 64 then determines a nextfood to be served to the user U, by selecting, with higher priority, thefood (in this example, food C) having the larger inner product value. Alarge value of the inner product between the preference vector and theattribute vector indicates that the components of the vectors havevalues that are relatively close to each other, and thus, as a result ofmaking a determination as described above, a food that is close to thepreference of the user U is selected from the plurality of foodcandidates.

Referring back to FIG. 17, in step S409, in accordance with controlperformed by the controller 14C, the presenter 16 presents the next foodto be served to the user U (see FIG. 20), the next food being determinedin step S408.

FIG. 20 illustrates one example of the presentation informationpresented by the presenter 16. The example illustrated in FIG. 20 showsthat a character string 71 indicating that the preference of the user Uis closer to food C of foods C and D, which are food candidates, and acharacter string 73 indicating the recipe for food C. Upon seeing thesecharacter strings 71 and 73, a food server can think that it isappropriate to serve food C to the user U next and can also know therecipe for serving food C. Only one of the character strings 71 and 73may be displayed.

Although the emotion estimator 11C has been described as using imageprocessing for the facial expression determination, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. Through measurement of a surfacetemperature of the nose by using an emission thermometer, the emotionestimator 11C may estimate that the user U has a pleasant emotion whenthe surface temperature increases and may estimate that the user U hasan unpleasant emotion when the surface temperature decreases.

Also, image processing using an infrared camera, other than imageprocessing using a visible ray camera, may be used for the causeidentifier 13C to determine the direction of the line-of-sight.

Also, the cause identifier 13C has been described as detecting theline-of-sight of the user U to identify a cause, it may also use agesture, such as touching with a hand of the user U or moving the headof the user U closer.

Also, although the cause identifier 13C has been described asdetermining a food by identifying a dish in which the food is placed,the cause identifier 13C may also make the determination by recognizingan object itself that is brought to the mouth of the user U. Forexample, when the food is ramen, the ingredients thereof are, forexample, soup, noodles, Char siu, simmered bamboo shoots, and leek, andthus these five types may be determined based on the shapes and thecolors of objects that are brought to the mouth.

Also, the information presenting apparatus 4 can be applied to not onlya system that determines a next food to be served but also any systemthat determines preference of the user U and then recommends a producton the basis of the determined preference. The information presentingapparatus 4 can be applied to a system that presents a product that theuser U really wants, for example, by presenting, to the user U, avariety of products on a personal computer and determining the emotionof the user U at this point in time by using video acquired by a cameraattached to the personal computer.

In addition, although the above description has been given of a case inwhich an object for which the degree of fondness, that is, a positiveemotion, is relatively large is heavily evaluated (i.e., a weight on themultidimensional vector of the object is increased), conversely, anobject for which the degree of fondness is small, that is, a negativeemotion is relatively large, may be heavily evaluated. In this case, anobject that the user dislikes can be determined. For example, when astudy subject that is a cause for which a student has a negative emotionin a classroom is heavily evaluated, a weak subject of the student canbe determined, and more effective education can be realized throughrepetitive explanations on the subject or the like. In this case, thecause identifier 13C cooperates with presentation software and maydetermine a cause in pages in a presentation to be explained to thestudent. With this arrangement, a weak subject of the student can bedetermined using a combination of the pages in the presentation and theemotion of the student.

As described above, the information presenting apparatus in the presentembodiment serves as an apparatus for presenting a food to be served toa user, analyzes preference of the user on the basis of the emotion ofthe user and a food the user brings to his or her mouth, and presentsinformation indicating a food that is relatively close to the preferenceof the user. Thus, the information presenting apparatus can improve theemotion of the user.

Also, the information presenting apparatus can specifically analyzepreference of the user by performing vector computational operationusing the attribute values of respective attributes of each food and candetermine a food to be served.

Fifth Embodiment

In a fifth embodiment, an information presenting apparatus and so onthat present information more suitable for a user on the basis of anestimated emotion will be described in more detail. An informationpresenting apparatus 5 in the present embodiment is an example in whichthe configuration and the processing of the information presentingapparatus 1 in the first embodiment are applied to an apparatus thatperforms information provision (e.g., tour guidance) using a pluralityof languages.

FIG. 21 illustrates schematic diagrams of a use scene of the informationpresenting apparatus 5 in the present embodiment. FIG. 22 is a blockdiagram illustrating functional blocks in the information presentingapparatus 5 in the present embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the information presenting apparatus 5estimates, as an emotion, the degree of understanding of a user U towhich speech using each of the plurality of languages is presented.Then, on the basis of the estimated degree of understanding, theinformation presenting apparatus 5 determines a language the user U canunderstand and performs information provision using the language theuser U can understand. That is, by using the language of information tobe provided to the user U, the information presenting apparatus 5increases the degree of understanding of the user U or maintains thedegree of understanding when the degree of understanding is alreadyrelatively high.

As illustrated in FIG. 22, the information presenting apparatus 5includes an emotion estimator 11D, a cause identifier 13D, a controller14D, a presenter 16, a camera 20, and a race identifier 80. The emotionestimator 11D, the cause identifier 13D, the controller 14D, and thecamera 20 are specific examples of the emotion estimator 11, the causeidentifier 13, the controller 14, and the sensor 10, respectively, inthe information presenting apparatus 1.

The camera 20 is a visible ray camera or infrared camera for capturingan image of the face of the user U (see FIG. 21). The camera 20 servesas a sensor for acquiring an image, which provides a physical quantity.More specifically, the camera 20 performs image capture to acquire animage including the face of the user U.

The emotion estimator 11D is a processor that estimates an emotion feltby the user U on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in theimage acquired by the camera 20 serving as the sensor. In this case, theemotion felt by the user U includes the degree of understanding about alanguage, such as being able to understand the language presented by thepresenter 16 or not being able to understand the language presented bythe presenter 16. For example, when the degree of understanding is 1,this indicates a state in which the user U understands the language;when the degree of understanding is 0, this indicates a state in whichthe user U does not understand the language; and the degree ofunderstanding between the states is indicated by a numerical valuebetween 0 and 1. A known technique can be used for a method fordetermining a degree of understanding on the basis of the facialexpression.

The cause identifier 13D is a processor that identifies a cause thatcauses the user U to feel the emotion estimated by the emotion estimator11D on the basis of information presented to the user U by the presenter16. More specifically, the cause identifier 13D obtains, as the cause,the type of language of the speech presented by the presenter 16 andgenerates information indicating the language type.

The controller 14D is a processor that controls presentation performedby the presenter 16, by using information obtained by executingpredetermined processing using the emotion estimated by the emotionestimator 11D and identification information generated by the causeidentifier 13D. The controller 14D has an internal configurationincluding a degree-of-understanding determiner 82 and a languagedeterminer 84.

The degree-of-understanding determiner 82 is a processor that determinesthe degree of understanding of the user U about the language of thespeech presented by the presenter 16. The degree-of-understandingdeterminer 82 obtains the degree of understanding estimated by theemotion estimator 11D and also obtains the information indicating thelanguage type from the cause identifier 13D. The degree-of-understandingdeterminer 82 then determines that the degree of understanding obtainedby the emotion estimator 11D is the degree of understanding of the userU about the language of the speech presented by the presenter 16.

The language determiner 84 is a processor that determines whether or notthe user U can understand the language presented by the presenter 16 onthe basis of whether or not the degree of understanding of the user Uwhich is determined by the degree-of-understanding determiner 82 islarger than a predetermined value. Also, when the language presented bythe presenter 16 is a language the user U cannot understand, thelanguage determiner 84 determines the language of the speech to bepresented to the user U, by using a language selection table T4 or T5held in a memory. For determining the language of next speech to bepresented to the user U, the language determiner 84 may use the raceinformation obtained from the race identifier 80.

The presenter 16 is an output interface for performing, in the form ofspeech, information provision using a predetermined language inaccordance with control performed by the controller 14D.

The race identifier 80 is a processor that identifies the race of theuser U. The race identifier 80 extracts features of the face, bodyconstitution, skin color, and so on of the user U included in an imageacquired by the camera 20 and generates race information that identifiesthe race (a yellow race, white race, or the like) of the user U. Therace information generated by the race identifier 80 is provided to thelanguage determiner 84. The race identifier 80 is not an essentialconstituent element of the information presenting apparatus 5.

Processing performed by the information presenting apparatus 5configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a control method for theinformation presenting apparatus 5 in the present embodiment. FIG. 24illustrates the language selection table T4 in the present embodiment.

In step S501, the camera 20 acquires an image including the face of theuser U.

In step S502, the race identifier 80 identifies the race of the user Uon the basis of the face (more specifically, the positions of featurepoints of parts, such as the eyes, the mouth, and the nose), bodyconstitution, skin color, and so on of the user U included in the imageacquired by the camera 20 and generates race information. In thisexample, it is assumed that the race of the user U is identified as awhite race.

In step S503, upon obtaining the race information from the raceidentifier 80, the language determiner 84 determines a language ofinformation to be provided to the user U, by selecting one language froma plurality of pre-defined languages as the language spoken by people ofthe race identified by the race information. A method for determiningthe language will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 24.

FIG. 24 illustrates the language selection table T4 used for selecting alanguage from a plurality of languages. In the language selection tableT4, languages that are presumed to be understood by people ofcorresponding races are shown in a predetermined order according to therespective races. This order may be an arbitrary order. However, forexample, when the languages are shown in decreasing order of the numberof languages the people of the corresponding races can understand, thereis an advantage in that the language the user U can understand can beidentified more quickly.

In step S503 described above, the language determiner 84 identifies, inorder from top to bottom, the language that is listed in the raceinformation in the language selection table T4 and that corresponds tothe race information obtained from the race identifier 80. For example,upon obtaining race information indicating a white race from the raceidentifier 80, the language determiner 84 selects “English” listed inthe language selection table T4.

In step S504, the presenter 16 presents, through speech output, speechdata using the language determined in step S503.

In step S505, the camera 20 acquires an image including the face of theuser U.

In step S506, on the basis of a facial expression of the user U in theimage acquired by the camera 20 in step S505, the emotion estimator 11Dand the cause identifier 13D estimate the degree of understanding of theuser U about the information presented in step S504.

In step S507, the language determiner 84 determines whether or not thedegree of understanding estimated in step S506 is larger than or equalto a predetermined value (e.g., 0.8). If the degree of understanding islarger than or equal to the predetermined value (YES in step S507), theprocess proceeds to step S508, and if the degree of understanding issmaller than than the predetermined value (NO in step S507), the processproceeds to step S509.

In step S508, the language determiner 84 determines that the user U canunderstand the language of the information presented to the user U instep S504. Thereafter, the language determiner 84 can continue providingthe information to the user U by using the language.

In step S509, the language determiner 84 determines another language asthe language of the information to be presented to the user U. Fordetermining the other language, the language determiner 84 uses thelanguage selection table T4. After selecting English for the white racein step S503, the language determiner 84 can determine that Frenchlisted next to English in the language selection table T4 is a nextlanguage of the information to be provided to the user U. Thereafter,the information presenting apparatus 5 returns to step S504 andcontinues the processing.

Through a series of processes as described above, the informationpresenting apparatus 5 can determine a language the user U canunderstand and then can perform information provision using thedetermined language.

Although the above description has been given of an example in which thetable in which the languages are associated with the respective races isused as the language selection table T4, a language selection table T5in which the languages are not associated with the races may also beused (see FIG. 25). When the language selection table T5 is used, theinformation presenting apparatus 5 selects a language withoutidentifying the race of the user U. This makes it possible to determinethe language of the information to be provided to the user U by usingthe simpler language selection table T5, and thus there are advantagesin that the amount of processing decreases and the power consumed forthe processing decreases. In this case, the race identifier 80 and theprocessing (steps S501 and S502) for identifying the race of the user Uare not required.

The above description has been given of a case in which a cause thatcauses the emotion of the user U is identified by estimating a change inthe emotion of the user U which changes after the information presentingapparatus 5 causes an event. In particular, when the user U has anegative emotion after words having no particular meaning, such as wordsfor greeting, are presented, the information presenting apparatus 5determines that this is a situation in which the user U does notunderstand the language in the first place, and changes the language tobe used.

In this case, the event may be another event. For example, a recommendedsightseeing area is presented to a tourist, and a determination is madeas to a subsequent facial expression of the tourist. When the touristhas a negative emotion, it is thought that the tourist does not preferthe sightseeing area, and thus another sightseeing area is furtherrecommended. The method using the multidimensional vector in the fourthembodiment can be used as a method for determining preference of atourist about sightseeing.

The event may not only be an utterance but also be an operation.

In addition, the application of the information presenting apparatus 5is not limited to information provision for tour guidance. Theinformation presenting apparatus 5 may be applied to a learning robotthat estimates an emotion of the user U after the robot utters oroperates, that determines whether the emotion is negative or positive,and that learns how the robot behaves in accordance with the preferenceof the user U.

The information presenting apparatus 5 may also be applied to abiometric authentication system. In this case, the informationpresenting apparatus 5 learns preference of the user U in advance. Theinformation presenting apparatus 5 uses a change in the emotion based onthe preference as one piece of information for biometric authenticationof the user U. For example, the information presenting apparatus 5 firstnarrows down authentication candidates by performing faceauthentication. Then, in order to check whether or not the user U istruly the person he or she claims to be, the information presentingapparatus 5 presents an image according to the preference of thisperson. For example, for a person who has a preference of liking catsand disliking dogs, the information presenting apparatus 5 shows a cutecat image to him or her and estimates his or her emotion at this timing.If this person is who he or she claims to be, the information presentingapparatus 5 should estimate a positive emotion. Also, when theinformation presenting apparatus 5 shows a dog image, it should estimatea negative emotion. Thus, by using the combination of the objects (thedog and the cat) and the emotion, it is possible to determine whether ornot a person is who he or she claims to be. This method is superior tothe biometric authentication of the related art in that thedetermination is made not only by using the face but also by furtherpaying attention to inner aspects of mind of the person. A specialemotion for the authentication may be pre-determined between the userand the biometric authentication system. For example, a generallyunlikely emotional change, such as losing one's temper when an image ofa dog is presented, may be pre-determined as an authentication key.

Additionally, application of the information presenting apparatus 5 maybe criminal determination at the customs. During criminal detection atthe customs, a criminal determination may be made by aggregating whatquestions cause negative emotions through combination of questions andchanges in the emotions after the questions are presented.

In addition, application of the information presenting apparatus 5 maybe a social game. When the emotion is positive after the timing when theuser meets a character of another user, this means that the user is fondof the character, and thus the game content may be changed so that anevent for the two people with the character occurs. Also, display of thecharacter of the user may change in accordance with the fondness for theopponent character. Also, when the emotion at the time of a battle eventin the social game is very positive, the capability of the character ofthe user may improve.

As described above, the information presenting apparatus in the presentembodiment serves as an apparatus for performing speech guidance using aplurality of languages, can determine a language that can be understoodby a user on the basis of an emotion of the user about a language, andcan perform speech guidance. In this case, when the informationpresenting apparatus uses the estimated emotion of the user about thelanguage presented to the user, it is possible to more appropriatelydetermine the language the user can understand.

The information presenting apparatus can also specifically determine alanguage the user can understand, on the basis of the degree ofunderstanding of the user about a language.

In each embodiment described above, the individual constituent elementsmay be constituted by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executinga software program suitable for each constituent element. A programexecutor, such as a CPU or a processor, may read and execute a softwareprogram recorded in a storage medium, such as a hard disk or asemiconductor memory, to thereby realize the constituent elements.Software for realizing the information presenting apparatus in eachembodiment described above is, for example, a program as describedbelow.

That is, the program may be a program that causes a computer to executea control method for the information presenting apparatus, and thecontrol method includes: estimating an emotion felt by a user, based ona physical quantity acquired by a sensor; generating identificationinformation that identifies a cause that causes the user to feel theestimated emotion, based on the physical quantity acquired by the sensoror information that a presenter included in the information presentingapparatus presents to the user; and controlling presentation performedby the information presenting apparatus, by using information obtainedby executing predetermined processing using the estimated emotion andthe generated identification information.

Although the information presenting apparatus and so on according to oneor more aspects have been described above based on the embodiments, thepresent disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. Modes obtained byapplying various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art tothe embodiments or modes constituted by combining the constituentelements in different embodiments may also be encompassed by the scopeof one or more aspects, as long as such modes do not depart from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure can also be used for an information presentingapparatus that presents information more suitable for a user on thebasis of an estimated emotion. More specifically, the present disclosurecan also be used for a vehicle navigation apparatus, an apparatus forpresenting a customer service policy for a customer, an apparatus fordetermining a food to be served to a person, and an apparatus thatperforms information provision using a plurality of languages.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control method for an information presentingapparatus, the method comprising: estimating an emotion felt by a user,based on a physical quantity acquired by a sensor; generatingidentification information that identifies a cause that causes the userto feel the estimated emotion, based on the physical quantity acquiredby the sensor or information that a presenter included in theinformation presenting apparatus presents to the user; and controllingpresentation performed by the information presenting apparatus, by usinginformation obtained by executing predetermined processing using theestimated emotion and the generated identification information.
 2. Thecontrol method according to claim 1, wherein in the executing of thepredetermined processing, the information is obtained by executingselection processing for selecting one piece of information from a tablein which one or more sets, each including an emotion felt by a personand a cause that causes the person to feel the emotion, are associatedwith respective pieces of candidate information or by executinggeneration processing for generating information through use of anemotion felt by the user and the cause that causes the user to feel theemotion.
 3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the emotionincludes a positive emotion and a negative emotion; in the executing ofthe predetermined processing, presentation information to be presentedto the user in order to eliminate the cause is obtained when theestimated emotion is a negative emotion, and presentation information tobe presented to the user in order to maintain the emotion is obtainedwhen the estimated emotion is a positive emotion; and in the controllingof the presentation, the obtained presentation information is presentedby the information presenting apparatus.
 4. The control method accordingto claim 1, wherein the information presenting apparatus comprises avehicle navigation apparatus; the navigation apparatus has a memorystoring a table in which one or more sets, each including an emotionfelt by a person and information indicating a direction of line-of-sightof the person, are associated with respective pieces of controlinformation regarding road navigation or sound output performed by thenavigation apparatus; in the generating of the identificationinformation, the identification information is generated based oninformation that is obtained from an image acquired by a camera servingas the sensor and that indicates a direction of line-of-sight of theuser, the physical quantity being provided by the image; in theexecuting of the predetermined processing, the information is obtainedby selecting the control information associated in the table with a setof the estimated emotion and the cause identified with the generatedidentification information; and in the controlling of the presentation,road navigation or sound output performed by the navigation apparatusare controlled in accordance with the selected control information. 5.The control method according to claim 4, wherein in the table, thecontrol information for the navigation apparatus is associated withsets, each including the emotion felt by the person, the informationindicating the direction of the line-of-sight of the person, andinformation regarding a road situation acquired by the navigationapparatus; and in the predetermined processing, the navigation apparatusobtains road information regarding the road situation, and the controlinformation is obtained by selecting the control information associatedin the table with the set of the estimated emotion, the cause identifiedwith the generated identification information, and the obtained roadinformation.
 6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein thecause comprises one of a quality of a product and a price of theproduct; in the generating of the identification information, theidentification information is generated based on whether the productlies on an extension of line-of-sight of the user or a price indicationfor the product lies on an extension of the line-of-sight of the userand indicates at least one of the quality and the price, theline-of-sight being obtained from an image acquired by a camera servingas the sensor, and the physical quantity being provided by the image; inthe executing of the predetermined processing, the information isobtained by generating presentation information for prompting the userto take a purchasing action, based on the estimated emotion and thegenerated identification information; and in the controlling of thepresentation, the generated presentation information is presented. 7.The control method according to claim 6, wherein in the estimating ofthe emotion and in the generating of the identification information, (a)a degree of satisfaction felt by the user about the quality that is thecause is estimated as the emotion, and information indicating thequality is generated as the identification information, and (b) a degreeof satisfaction felt by the user about the price that is the cause isestimated as the emotion, and information indicating the price isgenerated as the identification information; and in the executing of thepredetermined processing, based on the emotions estimated in (a) and (b)and the generated identification information, presentation informationto be presented to the user in order to prompt the user's purchasingaction is generated.
 8. The control method according to claim 1, whereinthe cause is any of the first foods; in the estimating of the emotion, adegree of fondness felt by the user about each of the first foods isestimated as the emotion; in the generating of the identificationinformation, information that is obtained from an image acquired by acamera serving as the sensor and that indicates which of the first foodsthe user brought to his or her mouth, the physical quantity beingprovided by the image, is generated as the identification information;in the executing of the predetermined processing, the information isobtained by generating presentation information including, with higherpriority, a second food having an attribute that is close to preferenceof the user, the preference being determined based on a degree offondness felt by the user, the second food being included in a pluralityof second foods that are candidates of a food to be served to the user;and in the controlling of the presentation, the generated presentationinformation is presented.
 9. The control method according to claim 8,wherein the information presenting apparatus has a memory in whichattribute values of respective attributes of each of the first foods arestored; and in the executing of the predetermined processing, apreference vector whose components are the user's preferences for therespective attributes of each of the first foods is derived based on adegree of fondness felt by the user about each of the first foods, andthe presentation information includes, with higher priority, the secondfood that is included in the plurality of second foods and for which avalue of inner product between the preference vector and an attributevector whose components are attribute values of respective attributes ofeach of the second foods is small.
 10. The control method according toclaim 1, wherein the cause is speech data using one language, the speechdata being presented to the user by the presenter through speech output;in the estimating of the emotion, a degree of understanding indicated bythe user about the speech data presented by the presenter is estimatedas the emotion; in the generating of the identification information,information that identifies the speech data presented by the presenteris generated as the identification information; in the executing of thepredetermined processing, when the estimated degree of understanding issmaller than a predetermined degree, speech data using a languagedifferent from the one language is obtained; and in the controlling ofthe presentation, the obtained speech data is presented by the presenterthrough speech output.
 11. The control method according to claim 10,wherein the information presenting apparatus has a memory in whichpieces of speech guidance data, each piece using one language, arestored; and in the executing of the predetermined processing, (a) whenthe estimated degree of understanding is smaller than a predetermineddegree, a piece of speech guidance data using a language different fromthe one language of the speech guidance data presented by the presenteris selected and obtained, the piece of speech guidance data beingincluded in the pieces of speech guidance data stored in the memory, and(b) when the estimated degree of understanding is larger than or equalto the predetermined degree, it is determined that the one languagepresented by the presenter is a language the user can understand.
 12. Aninformation presenting apparatus comprising: an emotion estimator thatestimates an emotion felt by a user, based on a physical quantityacquired by a sensor; a cause identifier that generates identificationinformation that identifies a cause that causes the user to feel theestimated emotion, based on the physical quantity acquired by the sensorand information presented to the user by the information presentingapparatus; and a controller that controls presentation performed by theinformation presenting apparatus, by using information obtained byexecuting predetermined processing using the estimated emotion and thegenerated identification information.